Some travelers to line up to enter P.E.I. at midnight as bubble opens

Some Atlantic Canadians are planning to cross the Confederation Bridge the moment the bubble opens.

At 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 3, residents of the four Atlantic provinces will be able to travel freely within the region without isolating.

The easing of restrictions has many eager travellers ready to drive late into the night to be one of the first to cross the Confederation Bridge into P.E.I.

Gerard Dugay is planning to be one of them. He lives in Halifax and has several family members, including children and grandchildren, on the Island.

Dugay said before the pandemic, he would make trips over the Strait nearly every month to visit. He's planning to be at the New Brunswick border at midnight.

"I haven't seen my kids or my grandkids since Christmas," Dugay told CBC.

"And my family's there, all my brothers and sisters. And my brother was diagnosed with lung cancer and I want to get to see him."

Hoping for a smooth trip across the Strait

For others, it's about getting in their yearly P.E.I. summer vacation.

Don Pendergast is a resident of P.E.I., but has been in New Brunswick with his partner during the pandemic. He's hoping to spend a long weekend back on the Island with his partner, who is from New Brunswick.

"We've been waiting very patiently," said Pendergast.

"We've been definitely missing going to the beach and that kind of stuff thatyou took for granted before. And it's, you know, the new normal I guess."

Pendergastand his partner are hoping to be at the front of the line to cross into P.E.I. at just after midnight. He said he's got the paperwork filled out and ready to go.

"We're just hoping that the line up for people like us is not too long, that we're not lined up all the way back to Port Elgin," said Pendergast.

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